Garment press



F. W. LINDEMANN March 8 1927.

' GARMENT PRESS Filed Jan. 28. 1926 lai -i 1 mam/141W wbamii Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

UNITED STATES FREDERICK W. LINDEMANN, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

GARMENT PRESS.

Application filed January 28, 1926. Serial- No. 84,395.

This invention relates to the type of garment press disclosed in my U. S. Patent No. 1,562,837, of November 24:, 1925. In the patented structure, a fly-wheel is employed, whose motion is instrumental in effecting operation of the pressing head of the press, and it is one object of the present invention, to provide new and improved means to engage and yieldably hold the fiy-wheel in either of its extreme positions.

In the patented machine, the fly-wheel is mounted on one end of a lever; the other end of this lever carries the pressing head and a connection is provided between the frame of the press and an oif-center part of the flywheel, said connection and fiy-wheel moving to or beyond a dead center position when the press is closed and remaining in such po sition as long as the pressing head is to be held in operative relation with the buck. A foot lever and certain associated parts were employed to return the fly-wheel and the above-named connection from dead-central relation, in order to permit opening of the press. In constructing presses along these lines, it has been found much more advisable to have a hand-operated member located on the carrying lever of the fly-Wheel and pressing head, instead of the foot lever. Hence, a further object of the invention is to fulfill this need.

WVith the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, the description being supplemented by the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the press disclosing my improvements and illustrating the pressing head in operative relation with the buck.

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail elevation partly in section, showing the means whereby the motion of the fiy-wheel is checked.

Figure 4 is a detail top plan view partly in horizontal section, showing the preferred manner of constructing and mounting the hand-actuated member which is used in lieu of the above-named foot lever.

In the drawing above briefly described, the numeral 1 designates the conventional form of frame structure upon which the buck 2 is mounted, said frame structure having a pair of standards 3 behind said buck.

Extending between the upper ends of these standards, is a horizontal shaft at supporting a lever 5, said lever preferably comprising two side members 6 connected at suitable points by transverse members 7 and 8. The front end of lever 5 carries a suitable pressing head 9 having an operating handle 10 by means of which it may be moved toward and from the buck 2. The rear ends of the members 6 are connected by a horizontal shaft 11 upon which two spaced fiy-wheels 12 are mounted, said fiy-wheels being sufficiently heavy to substantially counter-balance the weight of the pressing head 9, so that the latter may be easily raised and lowered. By an appropriate connection 13, the fly-wheels 12 are connected with the upper end of a link 14 whose lower end is pivoted at 15 to the frame 1, the length of said link being preferably extensible or retractible to produce the best operation.

The pivots 15 and 11 and the wrist pin connection 13 are so related that when the press is completely closed as in Fig. 1, said connection 13 will be either on or a slight distance beyond a dead center line. Thus, the press is effectively locked in closed position until the link 14 and wheels 12 are moved to shift them out of this dead center relation, whereupon the press may be easily opened. Novel provision is herein made for moving the link and fly-wheels in the manner just referred to and such means acts upon said fly-wheels to set them in motion, the kinetic energy thus developed, being expended by the fly-wheels to assist in quickly and easily moving the press to open position. When it isagain desired to close the press, the handle 10 is pulled downwardly and this movement of the lever 5, sets the fly-Wheels in motion so that they may also expend kinetic energy to assist in quickly and easily closing the press. Unique provision is made for limiting the movement of the fly-wheels 12 in either press-closing or press-opening direction and for holding said wheels yieldably when the desired position has been reached. It is this yieldable limiting means and the provision for initially rotating the fly-wheels 12 when the press is to be opened, which constitute the gist of the present invention. Other structural details herein disclosed may be found in the prior patent, above referred to.

The fly-wheel limiting means comprises units which are relatively movable. One of these units, in the present disclosure, 1s stationary and is carried by one of the side members 6 of the lever 5. Two other units co-operate with this stationary unit and are mounted on the fly-wheel 12, adjacent said side member 6. The stationary unit is identitled in a general way by the character U, while the movable units are indicated at U and U the last named units bemg preferably in the form of wedges as shown.

The unit U in the construction herein disclosed, comprises two blocks 16 and 17 which are relatively movable, said blocks being disposed at the inner side of the abovenamed side member 6, being elongated vertically, and having the inner edges of their upper and lower end portions beveled as at 18 to provide upper and lower V-shaped throats for co-action with the limiting units U and U the walls of these throats preferably having linings 19 of friction-creating material. Between their ends, the two blocks 16 and 17 are connected by an interfitting lug and recess 2021, and the block 16 is secured to the side member 6 by a bolt or the like 22. Above and below this bolt and the lug 20, bolts 23 pass through the two blocks and slidably engage one or both of them, coiled springs 24 being mounted on said bolts 23 to normally shift the movable block 18 inwardly toward the stationary block 16.

By the construction above described, when the fly-wheels 12 rotate in one direction upon closing of the press, the limiting unit U will be received between and yieldably held by the lower ends of the blocks 17 and 16. Similarly, when the fly-wheels turn in the other direction upon opening of the press, the limiting unit U is received between and yieldably held by the upper ends of the blocks 16 and 17. When the units U and U engage the wedge-shaped throats between the jaws or blocks 16 and 17, the fly-wheels are rapidly brought to a standstill and this checking of speed is cushioned, due to the fact that said units will wedge between the jaws, spreading the latter against the action of the springs 24.

For moving the fly-wheels 12 and the link 14 out of the dead center relation shown in Fig. 1, so as to permit opening of the press, I provide the construction now to be described. A pin 25 projects laterally from one of the fly-wheels 12 and is located at an oil-center point. One end of a manually operable lever 26 overlies this pin when the press is closed as shown in Fig. 1, said lever 26 being mounted as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 or in some other adequate manner, upon the lever 5. In the present showing, the front end of this lever normally rests upon the bar 7 and is provided with a knob or the like 27 near the handle 10. By exerting an upward push on this knob, the lever 26 is rocked causing a downward thrust upon the pin 25 and thus forcing rotation of the fly-wheels 12 to move the link 14; away from the locking, dead-center position which it previously occupied. Then, and only then can the pressing head 9 be elevated.

It will be seen from the foregoing that novel and very desirable provision has been made for limiting the turning of the fly wheels 12 and for initially starting these wheels when the press is to be opened. EX- cellent results have been obtained from the details disclosed and they are therefore preferably followed. However, within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous Variations may be made.

I claim 1. In a garment press, the combination with a movable pressing head, a fly wheel, means connecting said fly wheel with said head, and means operating to rotate said fly wheel to effect operation of said head; of means for limiting the rotary movement of said fly-wheel comprising a fiy-wheel-carried unit and a stationary unit, one of said units having yieldable means to engage and yieldably hold the other unit.

2. In a garment press, the combination with a movable pressing head, a fly wheel, means connecting said fly wheel with said head, and means operating to rotate said fly wheel to elfect operation of said head; of means for limiting the rotary movement of said fly-wheel comprising a fly-wheel-carried unit and a stationary unit, one of said units having relatively movable jaws to receive therebetween the other unit, and spring means for relatively moving said jaws into gripping relation with each other permitting them to yieldably hold said other unit.

3. In a garment press, the combination with a movable pressing head, a fly wheel, means connecting said fly wheel with said head, and means operating to rotate said fiy wheel to effect operation of said head; of means for limiting the rotary movement of said fly-wheel comprising a fly-wheelcarried unit and a stationary unit, one of said units comprising a fixed block and an ad acent movable block, the inner sides of said blocks being beveled to form a wedgeshaped receiving throat for the other unit, a bolt connecting the two blocks and permitting movement of said movable block toward and from the fixed block, and a spring on said bolt normally forcing said movable block toward said fixed block.

4. In a garment press having a pressing head, a lever on which it is mounted, a flywheel mounted on said lever, and a connection between an off-center part of said flywheel and a stationary part of the press,

lib l said connection and fly-wheel being adapted actuation of said hand-operated member to move to substantially a dead-center posiserving to move said fly-Wheel and connection When the press is closed; a lateral protion out of dead-center relation to permit 10 jection on the fiy-Wheel disposed at an ofi'- opening of the press.

5 center point, and a hand-operated member In testimony whereof I have hereunto mounted on the aforesaid lever and engagaffixed my signature. ing said projection when the press is closed, FREDERICK W. LINDEMANN. 

